They might not have the allure of the Pro Tour, but MTG Arena Championship events are still seriously important. Boasting a $200,000 prize pool, this tournament is a chance for the best of the best to earn some serious cash. Thanks to Arena’s tournament structure, there are even decent chances for aspiring players to strike it big.
On top of being a respected competitive event, Arena Championship events let MTG Arena’s unique formats shine. This time around, the spotlight was on the Historic format. Like many others, this format has been massively shaken up by Modern Horizons 3, leading to heightened interest.
As interesting as the Historic metagame has been recently, there have been some problems. Unsurprisingly, several strategies powered by Modern Horizons 3 cards have proven to be exceptionally powerful. It’s little wonder that these newfangled decks took center stage at Arena Championship 6 to crush the competition.
The only question is whether or not these new decks are too strong for Historic.
Boros Energy Steals the Show
In the hands of Wouter Noordzij, Boros Energy won Arena Championship 6. It all came down to a final against Marcus Wosner, who polluted the innovative Jeskai Lotus Field deck. Considering this deck was designed to beat Boros Energy, the fact Noordzij emerged victorious is that much more impressive.
More impressive, however, is the fact that Jeskai Lotus Field made it into the finals in the first place. Sure, it was custom-built to break the meta, but the odds weren’t in its favor. Out of the 32 Arena Championship 6 participants, only three were running this new deck. In comparison, eighteen (and a half) players were running a Boros Energy deck.
While Arena Championship 6 is far smaller than a Pro Tour, this meta share is nonetheless worrying. 58% of the Arena Championship 6 metagame was Boros Energy. This is on par with Nadu Combo’s prevalence in Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3. Once the dust settled, 19 of the top 32 decks were Nadu Combo.
Unlike Nadu Combo, which is basically nonexistent in Historic, Boros Energy didn’t lock out the event’s top four. That being said, the existence of Jeskai Lotus Field doesn’t stop this deck from being dominant. It did win the entire tournament, after all. This then begs the question, does something need to be done about Boros Energy?
If Nadu, Winged Wisdom is considered a basically guaranteed ban, to kill Nadu Combo shouldn’t the same be true for Boros Energy? Given the deck’s dominance, surely something needs to go, right? Should you ask Historic players online, the answer is a loud and pleading yes.
Ban the Bolt?
While Boros Energy was dominant at Arena Championship 6, it’s not only thriving there. On the MTG Arena ladder, Boros Energy is absolutely everywhere. This has led to a lot of players requesting that something from the deck needs to be banned. Right now, the Historic format is worryingly stale and action is required as soon as possible.
As always, the question on everyone’s lips is ‘What should be banned?’. Sadly, this isn’t an easy question to answer, but players do have plenty of suggestions. One of the most popular ban targets is Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, which fuels much of the deck’s aggressive game plan.
Alternatively, some players have highlighted the prevalence of Galvanic Discharge as a core component in the deck’s strategy. Not only is this card an effective piece of removal, but it’s also a fantastic Energy generator. It’s even powerful outside of Boros Energy, as it sees play in Jeskai Lotus Field too.
As USBacon points out on Reddit, Galvanic Discharge was a four-of in every top 8 deck at Arena Championship 6. Similarly, Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury can also be found in both these now meta-defining Historic decks. While these cards are undeniably strong and arguably problematic, this shared use could be the problem.
Should Wizards want to clip the wings of Boros Energy following the MTG Arena Championship 6, they’d want specifically targeted bans. Since Galvanic Discharge and Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury see play elsewhere, it may be better to choose a different target. As a result, banning Ajani, Nacatl Pariah or even Ocelot Pride could be the safer bet.
What Will Probably Happen
If we’re realistic, Ajani, Phalge, or even Galvanic Discharge probably won’t be banned in Historic. Even with the upcoming ban window set for August, it’s incredibly unlikely Wizards will ban anything. Instead, Wizards is probably going to bust out the Alchemy toolbox and nerf something.
Not only does this allow a deck’s power level to be refined with greater finesse, but it also keeps pack openings compelling. A major problem with the expected Nadu, Winged Wisdom ban is that the card was only released a month ago. This could make opening a Modern Horizons 3 Booster both disappointing and confusing for players new and old.
Should Wizards nerf one of the problematic cards on MTG Arena, opening packs wouldn’t change too much. While there is a small spike in confusion thanks to rebalanced variants being awarded, it’s not as bad as bans. On top of this, Wizards of the Coast can also rebalance cards sooner, rather than having to wait until August.
Despite the demand for action now, there’s no guarantee Wizards will change anything immediately. Since Bloomburrow is on the Horizon, the Historic metagame may be in for a slight shift very soon. While this is unlikely to dethrone Boros Energy on its own, it’s nevertheless a reason Wizards could use to delay taking action.
Ultimately, while the future remains unclear, it certainly seems like something needs to be done. Given the strength of Boros Energy in Historic right now, hopefully, it will only be a matter of time before something changes.
